Month: August 2016

Candidate Gianforte brings us yet another gimmick: sell the state-owned governor’s plane and use the cash to fund computer science in high schools across Montana. The idea is that the governor, and whoever the governor is in the future, can get out on the road, like the rest of us and that there are “…commercial providers available.” (Eliminating a governmental entity for a commercial substitution is also known as ‘privatization’.)

It would appear that the desperation of the campaign is reaching a bit of a frenzy with the increase of stunts to try to distract from the fact that Gianforte has produced no tangible substance whatsoever. And then there’s the problem of when he does produce something that he believes has value and will seduce voters, he later finds out that as Governor, he just doesn’t have the authority to pull it off.

How about a sampling of his feints so far?

Greg won’t accept PAC money and challenges Governor Bullock to do the same. Greg will, however, fund his own campaign and accept the assistance of PACs such as the recent racist and fear mongering mailing regarding refugees in Montana.

Greg will donate his salary as Governor. Around $110,00 annually. That’s quite a sacrifice from a billionaire.

Greg will match any campaign contributions with his own money. ‘I know I’ve claimed you commoners are among the lowest paid in the nation, but do you see how much money I have?’

Greg will sell the plane and fund education, but only computer science. And he will put what’s left towards infrastructure, that is if Austin Knudson will let him.

There are, of course, more examples. But back to the plane stunt. You would think that if ‘sarcasm’ was going to be a campaign tactic that he should look like he’s enjoying it and coach those around him to do the same. Instead, we get Representative Brad Tischida with his best Burgermeister Meisterburger glower. Brad, this axe is starting to run short of metal from all your grinding on it and you’ll be needing a new trick soon.

And one last observation: Irony. The candidate who proclaims to be the guru of technology and will bring high paying tech jobs to Montana poses with a prop of a newsprint classified advertisement. Greg, couldn’t you at least try to sell that plane on Craigslist? Surely they store their data on your cloud.

Well Waded, here we are again with a new story that’ll cause you to put on your dancing shoes to show us all how well you can tip toe around yet another ‘donation’ for MSU. Take a quick trip back to May of this year (which people like Waded and the Regents always hope you won’t) to remember the ‘agony’ by all those involved in the decision to allow gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte to buy a building and continue down a path of self promotion. Now fast forward and exchange Gianforte for Koch to find a similar dilemma, or worse.

The story isn’t anything new. It was reported shortly after the building drama that MSU had applied for a grant from none other than the anti government and anti public service Koch Brothers: the founders of Americans for Prosperity and the funders of Citizens United. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle posted a blip on the radar story that MSU had landed the 5.7 million dollar grant from Charles Koch which could create a ‘research center’ to study impacts of government policies and regulations on society. Unbiased of course. After all, why would the Koch brothers ever attach any strings to their money?

The question may be obvious, but should be asked: what’s the problem? It’s just grant money and grant money has been floating around for a long time now. In fact, we find ourselves in an era where funding for public education becomes more scarce each year. (Hmmm, lack of funding. Greater activity by ultra conservative groups like those funded by the Koch Brothers. Could there be a connection?) Commissioner Clay Christian espoused the dire need to scour the earth for other sources of funding while excusing away the ethical and moral tentacles that extended from the Gianforte building monster.

In less than a month the Regents will again debate whether or not to accept money and this time, the dirtiest of money, Koch Brother money. During their discussion regarding the Gianforte ‘donation’ each regent expressed the great consternation and deep angst of the decision to be made. In the end they, of course, voted to approve the acceptance of the donation. They will very soon find themselves facing the real test of whether they put their sorrowful words into action or if they put Koch money where their mouths are instead.

“A good rule of thumb is if you’ve made it to thirty-five and your job still requires you to wear a name tag, you’ve made a serious vocational error.” Dennis Miller

Five minutes of browsing through Greg Gianforte’s Facebook and Twitter pictures will leave you with a few thoughts: he can’t draw a crowd, genuinely smiling is difficult and what is with that name tag? You would think that a millionaire running for the most important job in the State of Montana, and someone who’s been at this for a while would have earned automatic recognition by now. And if that’s what you thought, you would be wrong. You can count on two things at every ‘event’: his forced smile and a name tag.

Just me and all this hay, but I know who I am. I have this name tag to tell me. We have people coming today, right?

Yes, I am Greg Gianforte. My sign and snazzy name tag tell me so.

I like boats, cannons, and most of all, I like name tags.

Great crowd today! As you can see by my name tag, I’m Greg Gianforte.

I’m Greg Gianforte and this is Greg Gianforte’s truck. I smile better when I’m with my truck.

Why am I here and why did I wear my name tag? I feel really uncomfortable….

Aaron, are they laughing at me and my name tag? I’m not sure what they just said. I still feel really uncomfortable….

Best day to wear my name tag ever!!! Did I mention that I’m Greg Gianforte?

I know they can’t see me! But dang it, the name tag makes me feel more confident!

Maybe I should get shirts to go with my name tag. Donald has shirts. Maybe I should pay people to show up too, hmmmmm….

That’s some beard, but not worthy of a forced smile. If you say my name you can have my ice cream, it’s right here on my name tag.

Montana’s gubernatorial contest between Governor Bullock and Greg Gianforte is getting all the ink this year and that’s no surprise. It’s hugely important. However, there is another race that deserves your immediate and urgent attention and that’s the contest for State Auditor. Why? Because Matt Rosendale is one of the most radical politicians to ever run for statewide office in Montana’s recent history.

You may know the name Rosendale. You may not. He’s a State Senator who recently moved to Montana from Maryland and ran for Congress in 2014. He spent over a million dollars of his own money (on ads depicting him shooting down drones and talking with a heavy Maryland accent) in the GOP Primary and still only managed to come in third place.

Rosendale, isn’t just dangerous because he’s willing to spend a massive amount of his own money to buy elections. He’s dangerous because of his radical ideology and lack of experience.

As State Auditor, Matt Rosendale would have a seat on the Montana Land Board. That matter because Rosendale has been unabashed in his support for transferring public lands to the state, which would result in their ultimate sale. By his own admission, Rosendale works closely with the American Lands Council. The American Lands Council is an extremist group that wants to shutdown public lands throughout the American West.

The majority of Montanans (a very, very large majority) depend on public lands, rivers, and streams to recreate, hunt, and fish. Rosendale, who if elected would have a seat on the Land Board, wants to strip Montanans of that access and sell those lands and rivers to the highest bidder.

The frightening ideology of Matt Rosendale goes beyond public lands, hunting, and fishing, however. The job of Montana’s State Auditor is to protect consumers and the middle class. As State Auditor, Rosendale wants to strip over 70,000 Montanans of their health insurance. That isn’t protecting the Montana middle class. Furthermore, his ties to the Montana State Fund are troubling.

The State Fund has plenty of critics. In 2015, it came under fire for lobbying “against allowing Montana firefighters to get the care they need when injured on the job.” They have also been criticized for offensive public relations campaigns.

During the 2015 Legislative Session, the Montana State Fund hired TEA Party activist Ethan Heverly to head up their lobbying efforts and liaison to the Leader of the Senator: Matt Rosendale. Ethan Heverly just so happens to have served as Rosendale’s campaign manager in 2014. This is all problematic since the State Auditor is charged with regulating the State Fund. With these ties we can assume that Rosendale will not stand up for workers, firefighters, and nurses – he will do what his former campaign manager tells him to do. This is no exaggeration.

Rosendale has absolutely no relevant experience when it comes to doing the job of State Auditor. Zero. That’s probably why he is the only statewide candidate who is refusing to take part in a televised debate with his opponent, Jesse Laslovich. Laslovich clearly outmatches Rosendale in experience and temperament.

Jesse Laslovich currently serves as the Chief Legal Counsel in the State Auditor’s office; he has nearly two decades of public service experience; he has a record of getting things done for consumers and Montanans. A perfect example has been his crusade to hold air ambulances accountable – a private sector business model that bankrupts families when they’re at their most vulnerable.

Over the last seven years, Laslovich has recovered over $100,000,000 for victims of fraud and over $21,000,000 to working Montanans in disputes with their insurance companies. Jesse Laslovich is what a consumer advocate looks like. He also has the temperament to be a statewide elected official and that’s why he has the support of such a broad coalition of people, from liberals to conservatives.

In this day and age, we could use more elected officials with the class and composure Jesse Laslovich brings to public office. The same cannot be said for Rosendale and his brand of politics.

January 23, 2017
Governor Gianforte again shocked citizens of the state today when he filed two lawsuits, one against his own Department of Administration and the other against the City of Helena. Both suits center around his attempts to further privatize and isolate the state capitol complex and specifically the state owned Governor’s Residence. Filing documents against the City claim that sidewalks are offset onto the residence property and the Helena Police Department is refusing to enforce his no trespassing postings along Broadway Street. In the second suit, Governor Gianforte alleges that representatives from the Department of Administration have refused his gubernatorial order to erect a fence around the residence.
Gianforte’s directive to the DOA has been met with questions of legality and costs. The Governor believes he has the authority to erect a ten foot privacy fence along the outside of the sidewalk that borders the public building. ‘Susan has had to put up with citizens walking freely along those walkways. They often look at the house and she feels uncomfortable. Just because I was elected Governor doesn’t mean I’m some sort of public servant or figurehead and either is my wife,’ Gianforte said in a brief press release. Gianforte has been at odds with the department that he directs since taking office.
Chief Legal Counsel Art Wittich believes there are numerous access points to the Capitol complex and that anyone without permission wanting to access the area can simply find another way. The privacy fence demanded by the Governor and his wife is to be built on the outside of the sidewalk and would block public access from the walkway. ‘It’s a simple project and won’t have any sustainable jobs attached to it, so we are contracting with a New Jersey company to install the fence once we are granted our motion.’
Fish Wildlife and Parks Director John Brenden and Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Director Jennifer Fielder have offered to mediate the situation in hopes of saving tax payer dollars for more fencing projects on public land. According to Fielder ‘There has been great progress in closing off public property since the Governor has taken office. John and I believe we can get a fence up to close this property as well.’ Brenden added ‘We are well aware that agencies have separate funding for these projects. We’ve streamlined government finally and are just mixing all this stuff together.’
The suit filed against the City of Helena contains two claims. The first asserts that the City illegally constructed the sidewalks two inches into the grounds of the residence. ‘We brought in our own surveyor and found, rightfully so I believe, that the sidewalks are not set properly and should be moved two inches towards the street.’ An initial demand letter failed to either convince or compel the City to tear out the sidewalks and align them properly to the new survey. ‘Look, they are holding up this fence project and we believe colluding with the DOA,’ commented Aaron Flint, the Governor’s communications director. The second claim against the Helena Police Department asserts that the HPD is not enforcing the no trespassing signs that have been posted along the residence and at all intersections along Broadway Street.
When asked how a public street and sidewalk could be posted for no trespassing, Flint answered ‘Now listen, just like there are two sides to every story, there are two sides to every street. This side belongs to the Governor and that side can be used by citizens as posted at each intersection and on the appropriate days and times.’
Department of Administration representatives are meeting with the Attorney General’s office to determine who will defend the State against the State. City of Helena officials intend to file a counter claim.

In other news, real estate mogul and President of the United States Donald Trump has advertised that he is selling the state of Montana for $1.8 billion to offset the rising cost of the construction of a wall between the US and Canada.